Heritage
by FemaleChauvinist
Summary: Winnie Black has no idea that she's one quarter vampire…until the day the scent of blood appeals to her for the first time.
1. Attack

**Disclaimer:** While the attempt has been made to be medically accurate, some artistic license has been taken, and statements made by Carlisle are not to be regarded as authoritative.

Recognizable characters and plotlines are the property of Stephenie Meyer; all original characters and story © 2015 FemaleChauvinist.

 _Do not post without permission. Do not copy/print without including the above disclaimer in its entirety._

 **Chapter One: Attack**

 _Fall 2030_

 _Winnie ten_

 **Carlisle**

It was my lunch hour, and I was in my office, chuckling over a new medical journal. The author of this article insisted on comparing various new discoveries with nineteenth-century medicine, and it was amusing what barbarians he thought we had been. Not that I didn't realize some of our techniques had been unnecessary, useless, or even detrimental, but some of the things he described had been abandoned by most doctors before the eighteen hundreds. It made me wonder if in a hundred years, some new doctor would be claiming we had still practiced bloodletting in the twentieth century.

I toyed with the idea of writing a letter to the editor…I couldn't admit to having been a doctor a hundred fifty years ago, of course, but I still had most of my old medical journals I could use as references…

I chuckled again at a particularly outrageous statement and then set the magazine aside as my cell phone rang. "Nessie?"

"Papa!" She sounded frantic, and I could hear the sound of a car running in the background. "I just got a call from Winnie's school — they said she _bit_ someone!"

"Calm down, Nessie," I said evenly. "Is the other student…all right?" Alive, I meant, but I didn't want to upset Nessie further.

"I don't know — she didn't say — I didn't ask."

"Then the child is fine; I'm sure they would have told you otherwise."

"But, Papa, what are we going to _do_?"

"Calm down," I told her again. "This isn't the end of the world." No one had slipped since she had been born; she had no memory of the times we had had to pack up and leave with no warning.

"She's always eaten human food," Nessie mused worriedly. "We just never thought…"

"Nessie. Calm down. Listen to me. I'm on my lunch hour; I can be at the school in two minutes."

"Thank you," Nessie whispered. "Papa —"

"I'd better be going, Nessie. Drive carefully."

I let the front desk know I would be leaving the building, and quickly slid into the Mercedes. I wove easily through the lunch hour traffic, arriving at Winnie's school in under two minutes and pulling into the drop-off area.

The school was fairly small; one room served as both principal's office and nursing station, and Winnie and the other girl sat on chairs on opposite sides of the room. Winnie was obviously upset, curled against the back of the chair and crying. The other girl glared at her; at first glance she really seemed more angry than hurt. She held a cloth to her neck, but most of the blood I smelled seemed to be coming from a badly skinned knee that was slowly seeping through another cloth.

I took note of all this in the first second as I walked through the door. "Hello, ma'am," I greeted the woman who was hovering near the other girl. "I'm Carlisle Cullen, Winnie's uncle."

"Ah. I'm Mrs Hewes. Thank you for coming in, Mr Cullen."

I didn't correct her, but turned swiftly to gather Winnie in my arms. "Shh, Pooh Bear; it's all right."

"B-but I b-bit h-her!" Winnie choked out, clinging to my neck.

"No one blames thee, Pooh Bear," I assured her softly. I rocked her gently as I turned to Mrs Hewes. "What happened?"

"She and Cara were running on the pavement when they both fell." That was when Cara had skinned her knee, I supposed. "The next thing we knew, your niece was biting Cara's neck. Cara screamed, and Winnie jumped up and practically went into hysterics."

So she had stopped on her own; she hadn't needed to be pulled off.

"I d-didn't m-mean to!" she sobbed.

"I know thou didn't, Pooh Bear; I know. No one's mad at thee, sweetheart."

The door swung open and a woman entered, her high heels clicking on the floor. "Cara!" she exclaimed.

Cara came to life then. "She _bit_ me!" she spat angrily. "That little — _vampire_ bit me!"

I tensed, but of course it was a fitting epithet; the child couldn't have any idea _how_ fitting.

The woman turned to look at Winnie, her eyes narrowing.

"Carlisle Cullen, Adelene Burnett," Mrs Hewes introduced us briefly. In a low voice, she quickly told Mrs Burnett what had happened.

I set Winnie back on the chair, touching her cheek reassuringly before turning back toward the others. "I'm a doctor, Mrs Burnett; would you like me to take a look at that bite?"

Her face relaxed slightly. "If you don't mind."

I had set my bag beside Winnie's chair; now I opened it and knelt beside Cara to check the bite. I felt the horror wash over me as I realized how close Winnie had come to piercing the jugular vein; even a quarter-vampire might not have been able to resist that warm rush of blood. And even if she had been able to pull away, the wound would have been bleeding dangerously… I forced the thought away; there was no sense dwelling on what hadn't happened. "This doesn't look too bad," I murmured. I cleaned it and applied a bandage, then looked up at Mrs Burnett. "When was her last tetanus shot?"

"Um…I think two years ago?"

"She should be fine, then. And now let's see about this knee."

I had just removed the blood-soaked wrapping when the door opened and Nessie came in. "Are you all right, Nessie?" I asked under my breath, my hands freezing for an instant in their work. The smell of blood in this small room really was pretty strong…

"I'm fine," she murmured, going straight to Winnie and wrapping her arms around her.

I turned my attention back to my work; Nessie had never lost control, and I had no reason to suspect she would do so now.

Several small bits of grit had been ground into the flesh; I carefully picked them out before cleaning and bandaging the knee. "You'll want to put some antiseptic ointment on these wounds every day; whatever you have at home for cuts and scrapes should be fine," I said to Mrs Burnett as I stripped off my gloves. "Bring her in if either injury appears red or swollen, but I think they should heal without a problem."

"Thank you," Mrs Burnett said quietly. She reached into her purse, drawing out her checkbook. "How much do I owe you?"

I held up my hand in a gesture of refusal. "No charge," I said easily. "It was the least I could do."

She smiled slightly. "Well, thank you then, Dr Cullen. Come on, Cara."

The girl shot a murderous glare at Winnie as she limped out after her mother; I had succeeded in appeasing the mother, but not the child.

I turned back to face the other occupants of the room. Nessie, sitting with Winnie in her lap, looked at me beseechingly. I saw that she felt completely out of her depth in this situation, looking to me as the coven leader — as the head of the family — to know what to do.

Mrs Hewes had returned to sit behind her desk, the expression on her face one of disapproval; upset, no doubt, by the way Nessie and I seemed to be taking Winnie's side.

I rested a hand on the desk. "How does the school typically handle incidents of this nature?" I questioned in my professional tone.

She looked sternly at me over her glasses. "We have never had an ' _incident_ ' of this nature, Dr Cullen," she said acidly.

No, I would imagine not.

"However," she continued, "with fights and things of that sort, for the first offense school policy is to call the parents and allow them to deal with it as they see fit." Her expression said that she doubted we would deal with it appropriately.

I nodded. "Of course. I assure you, ma'am, that we look on this as serious; we will do our best to see that it doesn't happen again."

"Well. See that you do."

I turned to crouch beside Nessie and rub a knuckle along Winnie's tearstained cheek. "Shh, Pooh Bear," I murmured.

"Papa, what are we going to do?" Nessie whispered; only I could hear her.

I rubbed my forehead with the back of my hand. "Take her home," I said quietly. "We'll hold a family council this evening…I'll call after Jacob gets home to talk about it. And, Nessie, maybe you'd better stop by the college on your way home."

Nessie nodded, seeming composed as long as I had things well in hand.

"Let me carry her," I murmured as Nessie seemed about to stand with Winnie in her arms. She could easily lift her, of course, but she didn't look as if she should be able to.

I settled Winnie in the front seat of Nessie's car and leaned in to kiss her forehead before getting into my Mercedes and driving back to the hospital.

 **Next chapter coming next week!**

 _I proofread all my stories at least once before posting, but if you see any mistakes I might have missed, please let me know!_

 _Please note that I have internet access only once a week, and may not have time to respond to all reviews/messages. If you have questions regarding my Twilight alternate history, check my profile first to see if they're answered there. Thanks for your understanding! Barbie_


	2. Comfort

**Chapter Two: Comfort**

 **Nessie**

I had felt a sense of disillusionment when I first walked in the room to see Papa tending the other girl while Winnie sat alone. But the next instant I realized that of course, he would want to try to repair the damage, both the physical damage to the girl and the damage to our image and reputation. And as I pulled Winnie into my arms, I smelled Papa's scent fresh on her; he had comforted her first.

His calmness amazed me; when I first called him he hadn't even seemed surprised, responding as though this wasn't something terrible and unusual. Watching him now, still calm as he finished tending the girl and spoke with Mrs Hewes, helped me keep my own feelings under control. Anyway, Winnie was upset enough without me going to pieces…she clung to me, sobbing almost hysterically, and I remembered that of course she had no idea _why_ she had had the urge to bite her classmate. We had never told her what we were, afraid she was too young to keep it a secret; since she had always eaten human food, we had assumed the smell of blood wouldn't be an issue. I was regretting that decision now; if she had known about the thirst, she probably would have been able to resist it.

"Stop by the college," Papa had suggested, and as I looked at my daughter crying herself sick in the seat beside me, I understood the wisdom of his suggestion.

The woman behind the front desk looked askance at the hysterical child I brought into the building. "Is Jasper Cullen available?" I questioned.

She pursed her lips. "Do you have an appointment, Mrs…?"

"Black," I supplied. "No, but he'll see us."

She frowned, and picked up the telephone to talk to Uncle Jasper. "He says to send you up to his office," she said finally, curling her lip in disapproval. "Room 8b on the third floor."

"Thank you." I turned, guiding Winnie to the elevator and shepherding her through the hall.

Her sobs began to lessen even before we reached his office; as we approached it he pulled the door open and reached a hand to draw her against his side. "Nessie, what happened?" he asked quietly.

I stepped forward and pressed my hand to the side of his face, careful not to include the scent of blood as I showed him what had happened; I knew it was still harder for him than for the others.

Uncle Jasper frowned in sympathy. He gently lifted Winnie to sit her on the edge of his desk. He mopped her tears with a handkerchief, then held it for her to blow her nose, gaining a small smile from her. I found myself wondering briefly why a vampire would be carrying a handkerchief.

Uncle Jasper sat behind the desk, leaning his arms on it so that his elbow touched Winnie's knee. ***** "Did I ever tell you about the little girl who saved an army?"

Winnie shook her head, and Uncle Jasper began the story. He could make history come alive; it was his ability to make you feel all the emotions of the main character, so that you almost thought you were living in the story. Winnie listened spellbound, the same girl who had been complaining only yesterday that history was boring. But I had to admit, there was little in common between one of Uncle Jasper's stories and a school history textbook.

He was just finishing the story when there was a hesitant tap at the door.

"Come in."

The student pushed the door open, then stopped in confusion at seeing Winnie and me. "I didn't realize you were busy…I'll come back later…"

"No, it's quite all right," Uncle Jasper said, getting smoothly to his feet and putting her at once at ease. "What did you need?"

"Well…they said you had a book about the Navajo Code Talkers."

"Ah, yes." He lifted Winnie to the ground and gently tugged one of her braids. "You go along with your mother, Pooh Bear."

"Thank you, Jasper," I said quietly as we turned to leave. He smiled at me, then turned his attention to finding the book the student needed.

Winnie's face sobered as we walked along the hall; I was sure Uncle Jasper was letting his influence fade gradually as she walked out of his range. But while she was pensive on the way home, she didn't return to her former hysteria. The story had distracted her, and Uncle Jasper had made her feel so many emotions in a short half hour that her mind had lost track of which was the real one.

 *** Link to illustration can be found on my profile.**

 **Next chapter coming next week!**

 _I proofread all my stories at least once before posting, but if you see any mistakes I might have missed, please let me know!_

 _Please note that I have internet access only once a week, and may not have time to respond to all reviews/messages. If you have questions regarding my Twilight alternate history, check my profile first to see if they're answered there. Thanks for your understanding! Barbie_


	3. Ashamed

**A/N: Thanks to the guest reviewer who so nicely pointed out that I had forgotten to remove the manual hyphens (which Fanfiction displays as a space in the middle of a word) from Chapter One. I proofread my chapters before I upload them, so I don't bother to do so afterward, and would never have realized it if someone hadn't said something.  
I also appreciate that she pointed it out so politely, unlike the guest reviewer on ''What's in a Name," who was so upset that I "didn't check my facts" regarding Nessie's middle name that I had to remove her "review" for bad language. She obviously didn't read the author's note at the beginning of the story, where I direct readers to my profile for an explanation of Nessie's full name. There she would have learned that I do know Nessie's middle name, and changed it **_**on purpose**_ **.  
If she gets so upset over a departure from canon, I have to wonder why she's reading fanfiction, where things a lot more significant than a middle name are sometimes changed! Though I suppose the bigger the change is, the more obvious that it was intentional… But either way, there's no call to be rude! (And if it's a wrong name that occurs only in one place, you should always consider that the author might accidentally have typed the wrong one!) Barbie**

 **Chapter Three: Ashamed**

 **Winnie**

I didn't talk to Momma on the way home; I knew she must be shocked at what I had done. Uncle Carlisle had assured me that no one was mad at me, but I didn't believe him; he just didn't want to deal with this in public. He was trying to calm me down, probably embarrassed at the scene I was making and what I had done.

I hadn't really been surprised when Momma took me to see Uncle Jasper; he could make a person feel better just by being there. I was glad to be able to stop crying, but he couldn't really change how I felt…how everyone else must feel about me.

I went to my room when we got home, and Momma didn't try to follow. Probably was glad not to have to look at the little girl who bit her classmate…

I heard when Dom came home, asking loudly where I was. Momma warned him not to bother me, but didn't tell him what I had done; I knew she must be afraid I would be a bad influence on him.

I kept one eye on the clock, watching as the hands moved all too fast to the time when Dad got home. Momma would tell _him_ , I was sure; maybe she had even called him at work.

With only fifteen minutes left, I shoved my window open and scrambled out. I ran across the yard to the big climbing tree and quickly pulled myself up onto the first thick limb. I was hidden by the branches there; maybe Dad and Momma would think I had run away. Would they even look for me, or would they be glad not to have to deal with their "vampire" daughter?

A vampire. That's what Cara had called me, and it hurt worse because of how well it fit. Who except a vampire, a monster, would bite someone else like I had?

I held perfectly still as Dad rode up the driveway on his motorcycle. Nicky ran to meet him, and I saw Momma standing in the doorway.

I breathed easier when Dad had gone inside. If nobody found me before dark, maybe I really _would_ run away.

Twenty minutes later, Dad came back out and walked straight toward the tree. Drat. Why did I think I could hide from him? He and Momma could _always_ find me.

He stopped beneath my branch and stood looking up at me. "Come on down, Pooh Bear."

Would everyone _stop_ trying to make me feel better with that old nickname?! It wasn't as if I didn't know what they were doing. I shook my head stubbornly, clinging to my branch.

Dad sighed, reaching up to hold the branch I was sitting on. "Look, Win, the kid's alive, isn't she? You didn't really do any harm." *****

He honestly thought I could have _killed_ her?

The scary part was…I almost thought he was right. If Cara hadn't screamed…

"Come on down," Dad said again. "It's suppertime. And after supper Aunt Rose and Uncle Emmett are going to come watch Dom so we can go over to Uncle Carlisle's."

I felt the blood drain from my face as I gripped the branch to keep from falling. I didn't really know how everyone was related to me; I had realized long ago that they weren't actually my aunts and uncles. But I did know that Uncle Carlisle was the head of the family; if he was going to be dealing with me, they must think it was really bad.

How could they understand that I had never _meant_ to bite her? She had fallen, and I had smelled the blood from her knee…and suddenly my teeth were in her throat. There was no conscious decision; no reason, really. But how could I expect them to understand that when I couldn't understand it myself?

"I wish you'd just spank me, Daddy," I said in a small voice.

"No one's going to spank you, Win."

No…I couldn't imagine what they'd do to me.

"You can't stay up there forever, Winnie," he coaxed, "and you know I can't come up after you; that branch won't hold me. Dommy wouldn't be very happy with either of us if we broke it."

"Daddy…are you mad at me?" I ventured timidly.

"No," he said instantly. "And I have the most reason to be." …I didn't understand that. "Come on, Pooh Bear. No one will hurt you."

"Promise?" Why was I asking him to protect me? I knew I deserved whatever punishment Uncle Carlisle decided to give me.

Dad growled. "They'll have to kill me before they touch a hair of your head, Edwina Sue Black!" He held up his arms, one hand touching mine, and I rolled off the branch into his arms.

For some reason, I believed him when he said he wasn't mad at me. Maybe it was because Uncle Carlisle was always so calm and composed no matter what he might be feeling; he could be furious with me and not show it. But I had seen Dad angry, and I knew that if he was mad at me, I would know it.

 *** Link to illustration can be found on my profile.**

 **Next chapter coming next week!**

 _I proofread all my stories at least once before posting, but if you see any mistakes I might have missed, please let me know!_

 _Please note that I have internet access only once a week, and may not have time to respond to all reviews/messages. If you have questions regarding my Twilight alternate history, check my profile first to see if they're answered there. Thanks for your understanding! Barbie_


	4. Family Council

**Chapter Four: Family Council**

I only picked at my supper, and for once no one tried to make me eat. We had just finished when Aunt Rose and Uncle Emmett got there.

Uncle Emmett grinned at me. "Tough luck, kid. But hey, it happens to the best of us."

I felt the tears stinging my eyes; why did Uncle Emmett have to make a joke about everything?

"You leave my daughter alone," Dad growled, his arm around my shoulders.

I heard Aunt Rose's sniff; she and Dad had never gotten along.

Momma reminded them about Dom's bedtime and warned him to be a good boy before coming out to the car with Dad and me. I curled up in the backseat, fighting a sick feeling in my stomach. I wished Uncle Carlisle didn't live so close…

When we got there, I slowly made myself crawl out of the car. I grabbed onto Dad's hand, shrinking behind him as we walked up the lane to the house. "I wish they'd let me handle this," Dad muttered under his breath. He picked me up, and I buried my face against his chest. I wished they had, too. But Dad had promised — they wouldn't hurt me.

They were all waiting for us, sitting at the big dining room table. Uncle Carlisle was at the head, of course, with Aunt Esme on his right and Uncle Edward on his left. Aunt Bella was next to Uncle Edward, and Momma sat next to Aunt Esme. There were two more places beside Momma, one for me and one for Dad, but Dad sat at the foot of the table instead, keeping me in his lap.

I was glad not to have to sit alone, but sitting here, across from Uncle Carlisle, made me feel like I was in court and he was the judge. Everyone else was the jury — but in the end, it was what Uncle Carlisle decided that would matter.

"You're not on trial, Winnie," Uncle Edward said quietly. Sometimes I was sure he could read my mind, the way he seemed to respond to what I was thinking. "No one thinks you did anything wrong."

"But I bit her!" I protested. They _should_ be mad at me; I would feel better if they _were_. "People don't just go around biting other people!"

"Vampires do," Uncle Edward said quietly, his eyes boring into mine. He _couldn't_ think _I_ was a vampire…could he? Or was that something else in his eyes?

"But…vampires aren't real," I whispered. Up until that very moment, I had been sure.

Uncle Edward smiled quickly, his teeth flashing sharp and dangerous. "Aren't they?"

I shrank back against Dad, suddenly afraid.

"Watch it, leech," Dad growled, his arms tightening around me.

Uncle Edward smiled, and suddenly he was just Uncle Edward again, not a dangerous vampire…or was he?

"Most of the people in this room are at least part vampire, Winnie," he said quietly. _Part_ vampire? I had never heard of such a thing; either you were a vampire or you weren't.

"I met and married Bella when she was still human," Uncle Edward explained in a low voice. "I never dreamed she could carry my child…your mother, Winnie. Nessie is half vampire, half human, so you're one-fourth vampire."

"We never meant to deceive you, Winnie," Uncle Carlisle said quietly. "We intended to tell you when you were old enough not to accidentally give us away. Since you ate human food, we never foresaw the smell of blood being a problem for you. I'm sorry you had to find out this way, Winnie."

I stared at him, something ringing in my ears. One-fourth vampire… No wonder they hadn't been surprised or upset; they all bit people all the time. And Uncle Carlisle was a doctor…I pictured him going in to a patient, smiling his reassuring smile — would it ever look the same to me again? — and then leaning forward… Or maybe he went down to the blood bank on his lunch hour, I thought bitterly.

"No, Winnie," Uncle Edward said; he sounded almost sick. "We drink animal blood…Carlisle has never killed a human"…he _was_ reading my mind.

"Yes," he said quietly.

"You _are_?" I squeaked.

He chuckled. "Yes. Anyway, even though we drink animal blood, we all know how tempting human blood is…most of us have slipped at least once. And when we slip…well, the human doesn't walk away."

"It tasted good," I admitted quietly.

"You have no idea," Uncle Edward murmured.

I turned to look at Momma, remembering now how she never seemed to eat much…though with Dad around, her food disappeared. "Momma…do _you_ drink blood?"

"Yes," she said quietly. "I can live on human food, but the only time I've ever enjoyed it was when I was carrying you."

I wrinkled my nose; the blood had tasted good, but not _that_ good.

"Be glad," Uncle Edward said quietly.

"How do you _do_ that?" I demanded.

He chuckled again. "I can hear thoughts as easily as spoken words…except for Bella's. Her special talent is a shield that blocks other vampires' mental abilities, like mind reading."

"Do all vampires have talents?"

"No. But a lot do; your Aunt Alice can 'see' the future, and your Uncle Jasper can influence emotions. Bree can hear the minds of animals, and influence them to her will."

"Annoying, that is," Dad grumbled; I wondered why he cared.

Uncle Edward smiled across the table at Momma. "And your mother has my talent and Bella's turned around…when she touches your face you can hear her thoughts, and no shield can keep her out."

The way he and Momma were looking at each other made me think of something else he had said, something I hadn't grasped the meaning of. He had claimed to be Momma's father, which would make him my… "You _can't_ be my grandfather!" I protested. "You're too young!"

"How old do you think I am, Winnie?"

"Um…sixteen?" There was a touch of doubt in my voice as I realized that I had always thought he was around sixteen.

"Close," he murmured. "I was seventeen when Carlisle changed me…in 1918."

I stared at him as I tried to do the math in my head. "You're a hundred twenty-two?"

"A hundred twenty-nine," he corrected. "You forgot that you borrowed a one, and I was already seventeen in 1918, so you have to add that."

I barely heard his correction of my math…a hundred twenty-two, a hundred twenty-nine — what difference was it, really? He was older than I could even imagine…older than Katie's great-grandfather when he died last year. "How old do vampires get?" I breathed.

Uncle Carlisle chuckled. "Well, I'm three hundred eighty-seven…there's very little that can kill us." He sobered. "But you're mortal, Winnie. It's possible that you'll live longer than the average human, but not forever."

I shrugged off the thought; I was too young to think about dying. "Can I still call you Uncle Edward?" I asked him.

"You should," he agreed. "We can explain Uncle as just a term of affection…Grandpa might be a little harder."

"Winnie," Uncle Carlisle said seriously. "You can't talk about this to anyone; do you understand? Our existence depends on keeping what we really are a secret."

I nodded slowly, wide-eyed.

"We _don't_ drink human blood," Uncle Edward said again, quietly, responding to the doubt in my thoughts. "But it's not safe — for us — to have humans know what we are."

Why, I wondered, if nothing could kill them?

Uncle Edward sighed. "You'll have to trust us on this, Winnie. Promise?"

I nodded. "Promise."

"And make sure you don't tell Dom," Momma put in. "If he asks, don't even make guesses that 'happen' to be right. We'll tell him when he's old enough."

"But what if he bites someone like I did?" I demanded.

"Win, he's not part vampire," Dad reminded me with a chuckle. "Don't you remember?"

Oh, right; Dad and Momma had adopted Nicky when I was five. He looked enough like Dad, with his dark hair, that it was easy to forget.

 **Next chapter coming next week!**

 _I proofread all my stories at least once before posting, but if you see any mistakes I might have missed, please let me know!_

 _Please note that I have internet access only once a week, and may not have time to respond to all reviews/messages. If you have questions regarding my Twilight alternate history, check my profile first to see if they're answered there. Thanks for your understanding! Barbie_


	5. Wolf Father

**Chapter Five: Wolf Father**

I turned slowly in Dad's lap to stare up into his face. I knew that when Uncle Edward had said _most_ of the people in this room were at least part vampire, Dad had been the exception; where their skin was pale and cold, his was fiery warm…warmer than Dom's when Uncle Carlisle had put him in the hospital for his fever.

"She's wondering about you, Jacob," Uncle Edward said quietly.

Dad smiled down at me. "What about me, Pooh Bear?"

"Are you…human?"

"Yes," Dad said instantly, "but not entirely. I'm a werewolf, Winnie."

I sat frozen, staring at him. Images flashed through my mind; the talking wolves that served the White Witch; the werewolf that had attacked Prince Caspian. _"I can lie a hundred nights on ice and not freeze…I can drink a river of blood and not burst…Where I bite, I hold till I die…Show me your enemies"_ _1_ …I had always been afraid of the wolves.

"Winnie, stop," Uncle Edward half groaned. "You're giving me a headache." He got up and came to squat beside Dad's chair, putting a hand on my shoulder. "That werewolf was in a story; he acted the way the author thought he should. It has nothing to do with what real werewolves are like…and technically, your father is a shape-shifter, not a werewolf."

"He hasn't changed, Winnie," Aunt Bella put in quietly. "He's exactly the same person you've always known. The only difference is, you know what he is. And he's the same person as a wolf as he is when he's human."

I looked up hesitantly; Dad was looking at me almost fearfully. "I wouldn't hurt you, Winnie," he whispered.

No…of course he wouldn't. I had been so sure earlier that he wouldn't let anyone touch me… "He won't, Winnie," Uncle Edward assured me quietly.

"Am I…part werewolf?"

"No; you're one-fourth vampire and three-fourths human with the potential of becoming a werewolf…but I doubt you will."

"Why not?"

Dad smiled slightly. "Well, for one thing, there's only ever been one female werewolf. But the transformation is triggered by exposure to vampires, and you've been around them so much — besides being part vampire yourself — that you're probably immune."

"Why do vampires trigger it?"

Dad sighed. "Because…the purpose of werewolves is to protect the tribe from vampires."

"Protect them?" I asked in a small voice.

"Yes," Uncle Edward said quietly. "But Carlisle made a treaty with the wolves; we won't bite humans, and they will let us live in peace."

"But I broke the treaty." I knew now why Dad had said he had the most reason to be upset…

Dad grinned. "Well, the kid's still human and walking around; I guess I can let you live." His face sobered. "Honestly, Winnie, I'd never hurt you; can't you believe that?"

I suddenly flung my arms around his neck. Of _course_ I believed it. Aunt Bella was right; _he_ hadn't changed. "I love you, Daddy." I pulled back. "Can I see you…as a wolf?"

He looked at me a bit doubtfully. "Are you sure you want to?"

"Yes," I insisted.

He sighed. "All right."

"Not in the house!" Aunt Esme protested.

Dad chuckled. "Of course not. Coming, Ness?"

I slipped my hand into Momma's as we followed Dad out of the house. I had said I wanted to see, but part of me wasn't quite sure… I hoped Uncle Edward wouldn't give me away.

Momma stopped just off the porch, but Dad ran on into the woods. "Where's he going?" I asked timidly.

"His clothes don't change with him," Momma explained; "if he doesn't want to ruin them he has to undress first."

I watched the woods where Dad had disappeared, and when the wolf emerged I pressed against Momma, clutching her hand tightly. I hadn't realized how _big_ he would be…

Momma gently brushed my cheek with her fingertips, and suddenly I saw the wolf as she saw it; saw that its eyes were somehow Dad's.

He stopped in front of me and crouched down, like a dog asking to play. ***** His tongue hung out the side of his mouth in what looked like a grin. I giggled and hesitantly stretched out my hand. His warm tongue licked me from my fingertips to my elbow, and I wrinkled my nose as I wiped my arm against my side.

"Jake!" Momma scolded.

He gave a short bark that sounded like a laugh, and crouched low to the ground. Momma pulled her hand from mine and ran to climb onto his back.

The wolf looked at me and yipped softly.

"He wants you to ride, Winnie," Uncle Edward explained softly.

I took a step back, unsure.

"He's your father, Winnie; he won't hurt you." The memory of Uncle Edward's voice saying something very similar flashed through my mind… _"_ _ **That**_ _wolf won't hurt you."_ Had the howls that had scared me that night been _Dad_? No wonder Uncle Edward had sounded like he was laughing…2

"Yes," he said quietly. "He changes into wolf form to take Nessie hunting. Come on, now." He led me to the wolf's side and lifted me onto its back. The reddish fur was thick and warm as I buried my hands in it to hold on. I felt Momma wrap her arms around my waist.

The wolf looked over its shoulder with another wolf-grin, and then began running in a smooth lope. I released one hand to shyly pat its neck. It was hard to think of this huge animal as Dad…but why not? Was it any stranger than being part vampire?

"Howl, Daddy," I said suddenly.

Dad stopped running and lifted his nose to the sky. And as I felt the howl vibrate through his body, I knew I would never be afraid of that sound again.

The End

from Prince Caspian, by C. S. Lewis, Chapter XII: "Sorcery and Sudden Vengeance"

2 from my story "Wolf Song"

 *** Link to illustration can be found on my profile**

 _I proofread all my stories at least once before posting, but if you see any mistakes I might have missed, please let me know!_

 _Please note that I have internet access only once a week, and may not have time to respond to all reviews/messages. If you have questions regarding my Twilight alternate history, check my profile first to see if they're answered there. Thanks for your understanding! Barbie_


End file.
